The Crimson Alchemist
by AwesomatoligicalHaliBug
Summary: After being poisoned at infancy, Edward accidentally receives magical powers. Being kidnapped by a witch who he believes is his mother, he is locked in a tower for years so that his 'mother' can use his powers for her magic. But will one man ruin everything for the witch?
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time in a kingdom far far away, there was a king and a queen who ruled with an iron fist. King Van and queen Dante were feared by their people, their kingdom being a dark land. When Dante became pregnant with the heir, no one rejoiced. No one wanted their dynasty to continue, and prayed another royal member of the family would come to rescue their land.

When prince William was stillborn, king Van went into a depression, consuming himself with work, neglecting Dante and the kingdom. Queen Dante, having lost her child, only became more evil. She began to study the art of witchcraft in hopes of one day bringing her lost son back to life.

The king was seen with a young princess often after this. This princess, named Trisha, taught the king to love rather than hate, and that you didn't have to rule so harshly. The king spent almost all of his time with this princess, pushing his work off to be with her.

The queen Dante knew that it was only a matter of time before her king left her for this princess. Deciding to show who the real queen was, Dante prepared to cast a spell on the princess, forever condemning her to a childless and loveless life.

Before the queen could cast the spell, however, the king caught on, exiling Dante from the kingdom. After the king had sent Dante away, he had an official divorce prepared so that he could marry his new princess.

Van and Trisha were married, becoming the king and queen of their kingdom. Shortly after, Trisha became pregnant with their heir. The kingdom that had accepted their new king's personality and the new queen celebrated for an entire week upon hearing that this queen would be the mother of their heir.

Just when the queen was about to have her baby, she grew ill. She was running out of time, and in a haste, the whole kingdom went searching for a cure. Dante, from her hidden tower deep within the forest knew that this was her chance to make sure Trisha would never have her chance of happiness with the king.

While the kingdom was searching for the cure, Dante concocted a potion which would ensure the death of both the queen and her unborn child. Setting it up in a way that the people of the kingdom would find it, Dante hid away until her time came to retrieve her reward–being with the king forever.

The king's troops found the potion, which had formed into a stone. It glowed black, and they knew it was magical. They brought it back to the queen, and knowing it was their last resort, the queen swallowed the stone, hoping for the best.

The potion didn't work.

Instead, A baby boy, a prince, was born, with long raven hair and a birthmark shaped like a dragon on the back of his neck. Despite the oddities in his looks, the king and queen still loved their baby. They celebrated his birth by launching red and black fireworks into the sky. Everything was perfect in the kingdom, but only for that moment.

Upon hearing that the queen and her child had survived, Dante traveled to the palace to find out for herself. She disguised herself as an old woman using the witchcraft she was learning more about every day, having enough time to practice with being exiled.

Climbing up through the balcony of the king and queen's bedroom–formerly her and the king's bedroom–she quietly walked into the room to see a bassinet containing a sleeping infant near the bed. The potion hadn't worked, and she was determined to understand why.

"Atque utinam rex regina in miseriam meam vocem. Denique nunquam beati." Dante whispered the same words as when she created the potion. As she whispered this, the prince's black hair began to glow a crimson red, the former queen suddenly feeling rejuvenated and powerful. After this feeling, the hair started to dull and turned back to black.

"Atque utinam rex regina in miseriam meam vocem. Denique nunquam beati." Dante whispered once more. She waited for the hair to grow a crimson, grabbing a knife she kept in her boot and clipping some of the crimson red hair. She gasped, noticing the hair she had clipped turned blonde, losing it's power, as well as the rest of the strand she had clipped.

Dante looked at the king and queen's unmoving forms, a quick thought in her mind at how she had to have this. She had to keep this power away from anyone else. She had to have this baby.

Grabbing the infant who began screaming once she did, Dante climbed out through the balcony, seeing the now awakened Trisha and Van run from their bed to chase after her, but they were too late.

Dante was gone.

* * *

**If you can't tell by now, this is totally based off of Tangled. **


	2. Chapter 2

_After the tragedy of having their prince stolen from them, the king and queen knew that they needed to have an heir. Just because one child was lost did not mean that they were excused. If they did not have an heir, then another royal member would take over their kingdom, which they knew would not be so kindly to rule._

_Trisha became pregnant once again, though both the king and queen did not hold out as much hope for this child's life. Van's first son had already been still born, his second being stolen away from him, and his third child..._

_They were prepared for the worst in this situation._

_Trisha did not become ill like she had before during her previous pregnancy, and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy with blue eyes and brown hair, matching Trisha's looks. The two were nearly identical, making Van think of what his sons before him would look like. Would they have looked like him?_

_William was born with little tufts of blonde hair and golden eyes, and their lost son had been born with long raven hair–abnormally long for a newborn infant–and golden eyes. The man sighed, making due with his newest son, the one that lived despite the king and queen's lack of hope._

_Prince Alphonse._

* * *

_Inside the tower deep within the forest, Dante raised the child she had stolen as her own._

"_Atque utinam rex regina in miseriam meam vocem. Denique nunquam beati," the lost prince recited as he was taught to, his hair glowing crimson red like it had been doing since birth. The magic was always more powerful whenever he recited the spell. Dante smiled in satisfaction as the feeling of rejuvenation soared through her body. "Why can't I go outside?" the golden eyed boy asked, turning to the witch. _

"_The outside world is a dangerous place full of monsters and selfish people. You must stay hidden so you can be safe," Dante explained. "Do you understand, Edward?" _

"_Yes, mommy." _

_Once a year, though, always on Edward's birthday, the king and queen would launch their fireworks, hoping one day their lost prince would return to them._

_And every year, the boy would wait until Dante was asleep to run to the window of the tower, his long hair–longer than he was and growing longer each year–flowing behind him, and watch the fireworks in the sky in awe. _

Eighteen years later.

Edward sat in his tower deep within the forest, doing what he did every day. Reading. He read about the witchcraft that his mother studied, which was known as Alchemy in another world that his mother would tell him about. She said that long ago, she went to that other world, though did not like it as much because there was someone here that she loved.

Whenever Edward would ask her who it was she loved, Dante would just say, _Why it's you, of course,_ but Edward didn't think that could be possible. She was his mother, she could have just taken him to the other world with her. He wondered sometimes if she should have, maybe then he wouldn't have to stay in the tower day and night because of his powers.

"Edward!" Dante called from another room within the tower. The raven haired teenager quickly stood from the floor where he was sitting, dropping the book. Dante marched into the room. "You haven't been studying magic without me, have you?"

"No, mother, I was reading an adventure book," Edward lied. "You know how I get excited about leaving the tower..." he trailed off, trying to excuse himself. Dante hated when Edward went on about leaving the tower one day, and when he brought up the fireworks that went into the sky every year, she hated it even more. His birthday was coming up, and when he mentioned it, his mother completely barred him from looking outside the window, let alone leaving the tower. Edward decided it was better to go along with whatever she said than to start an argument, which would always lead to more chores on his part. Besides, she didn't like it when he read adventure books or magic books, but the adventure book lecture was always better than the magic book lecture without her.

"Then what is this?" Dante asked, bending over and lifting the magic book. It was clearly one of hers, since Edward owned no magic books, and the lettering on the cover was in Latin text.

"...A magic book.." Edward trailed off. He bit his lip as he watched Dante sigh in frustration.

"You know how I hate you lying to me," Dante said. "I don't want you studying magic without me, something could go wrong. You could have turned yourself into a toad for all I know!"

"No, mother, I wasn't studying it, I was only reading it." Edward defended himself.

"If you had just told me that from the beginning maybe I wouldn't be as angry as I am with you flat out lying to me, Edward," Dante spoke. The raven haired teen knew well of the anger brewing behind her voice. "You are barred from reading any books for the rest of the week."

"What will I do in the mean time without books?" Edward asked, though immediately regretted it.

"That's a good question; you'll be scrubbing the tower from top to bottom. I want these floors so clean that I can eat off of them, and the dishes so clean I can see my reflection." Dante ordered, collecting all the books in the room before walking out.

Edward sighed, grabbing a broom located nearby, and began to clean through his punishment.

* * *

"Edward!" Dante called once more, just as Edward finished cleaning his room thoroughly. There was not a speck on the floor, as he had been spending all day cleaning it. The sky was growing dark, and stars were beginning to come out.

"Yes, mother?" Edward asked as Dante reached him.

"I'm leaving on a trip. I'll be back by the time your punishment is over, alright?" Dante asked. Edward nodded. "I'm going to the other world to gather some ingredients for a potion I want to try with you."

"Are you sure you want to leave now? It's getting dark." Edward asked.

"I'm leaving. I want you to keep cleaning. Oh, and this floor is not clean. Keep cleaning in here," Dante ordered. "But first, let me out of the tower."

Edward nodded, walking over to the window in his room and taking his hair, throwing it out the window. Since there were no exits from the tower he knew of, Edward always had to let Dante out of the tower through his hair, where she would usually slide down. This time was no different, Dante slid down from his hair before walking off to a special spot where she would preform the ritual to go to the other world.

Edward sighed, grabbing a mop and beginning on his room once again.

Night turned to day, Dante still gone from the other world. Edward finished cleaning the entire tower from top to bottom. He knew it wouldn't be good enough for Dante, but it was good enough for him. Just as he was about to start all over again to make sure that everything got cleaned up just the way Dante wanted it, there was a thump from his room.

Edward ran into his bedroom to see what was going on. He looked around, but didn't see anything, but noticed that there was a blanket that was not there before. A blanket that Edward did not recognize. Walking over to it, he lifted it up, noticing the golden thread which he had never noticed before.

"Oh that? Yeah, that's the baby blanket that the queen made for-" a voice that ended as suddenly as it started had been interrupted by a punch in the face from Edward's fist. He hadn't even seen himself do it, since he kept his eyes closed the entire time.

Looking down at the face on the floor, Edward could clearly tell it was a man. Though, he had never seen another human being before besides himself and his mother. Kicking the body slightly, he noticed that the man was unconscious. Edward knelt down to inspect his doing.

The man had raven hair, though his eyes were closed. His skin was a different tone of color than himself or even Dante. Edward lifted the man's upper lip to see his teeth, and noticed that they were not much different than his own. Edward smiled a little, he would finally get to meet another person. Not until this person woke up, but still, he would meet one soon enough.

Edward sat with the baby blanket, running his fingers over the thread, smiling at it. This was not something that he made or something that his mother made, but it was from somewhere else. Dante rarely even mentioned the kingdom that Edward knew was nearby. He knew that it was just across the forest, but was never allowed to go outside the tower, let alone the forest. He sighed a little, hoping that this was his key to going out to see the fireworks he had always dreamed of seeing.

The man began groaning, opening his eyes a little. Edward could now see that they were black, much like the man's hair. They looked like charcoal.

"You're awake." was all Edward say. It was all he could say given the circumstances.

"You punched me in the face!" the man yelled, suddenly standing from his position on the ground.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have startled me!" Edward shouted back, gasping a little at how he did so. He had never shouted in his life, not unless he wanted to be punished. Putting a hand to his lips, he fell silent.

"All I was doing was being friendly," the man retorted. "You shouldn't have reacted so hostilely."

"You were being friendly by sneaking into my tower?" Edward raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you live here? Someone _lives_ here?" the man looked around the tower to see there was indeed a bed and other items for someone to be living there.

"Yes, _I_ live here. What's your name? Where are you from?" Edward asked. He already knew the man was from the kingdom, though it wouldn't hurt to ask. After all, he could have been from another world, trying to steal the power that he possessed; that Dante had kept protected.

"My name is Mustang, and I'm from the kingdom. Who are _you_?" the man–Mustang–asked. Edward wondered if he should answer the man, but why not? Mustang had told him everything that he wanted to know.

"My name is Edward, and I'm from this tower. What are you doing here?" Edward asked. This was turning into a never ending list of questions, and Mustang knew it.

"Edward? You look like an Ed. I'm gonna call you Ed," Mustang said. "Look, we could just sit and ask questions all day, or you could give me that blanket and let me be on my way. What do ya say?" he smirked. It was attractive, Edward had to give him that.

"You don't have permission to call me Ed," Edward glared. "Besides, what if I don't want to give you the blanket?"

"I need that blanket to-" Mustang was interrupted.

"I guess we could fashion a deal." Edward smirked triumphantly. He knew that he could get whatever he wanted if this man waned the blanket _that _bad.

"What do you want?" Mustang asked impatiently.

"I want you to take me to see the bombs. They go off at the castle every year on my birthday, and that's in two days." Edward ordered. He felt good about being in control for once after so many years of being a subordinate to his mother. He felt giddy.

"You mean the fireworks?" Mustang asked. Edward nodded excitedly. "Why not just go by yourself?"

"Because I need protection. You'll take me or you won't get this blanket back." Edward said.

"How about I just do this?" Mustang grinned and reached to grab the blanket, but Edward dodged.

"Too slow." Edward smirked.

"Alright, let's go see the freaking fireworks," Mustang sighed, walking to the window of the tower. As he did this, Edward made haste to hide the blanket until they returned from the kingdom. Mustang moved to climb down when suddenly a black rope flung out of the window. Only it wasn't rope; it was hair. "What the fu-"

Edward flew his hair through a hook, down the tower, and used it to slide down like Dante had been doing all these years. It felt amazing to have the wind running over his face with the back of his neck cooling after so many years of hair over it.

He reached the bottom, feeling the misty grass on his feet for the first time, grinning ear to ear at the feeling of a breeze catching him. By the time Mustang had finally reached the bottom, Edward was sitting nearby a puddle with his feet in it.

"Are you fucking–you're like a small child!" Mustang growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. He sighed, knowing that he would have to put up with this for a lot longer than three seconds. "Are you telling me you've never sat in a damn puddle?"

Edward didn't answer, too busy in his own affairs. He was having the time of his life and he wasn't even ten feet away from his tower. The tower he was raised in. The tower which protected him.

"Let's go, Eddy!" Mustang called out as he began to walk away. Edward's grin faded, turning into a frown at the nickname. Standing from the puddle, the teenager ran to Mustang, standing close by in case anything happened. His hair trailed along, the end long behind them.

He was finally going to get to see the fireworks.


End file.
